Rail fastening



W. S. BOYCE ETAL RAIL FASTENING Sept. 5, 1 944.

Filed May 4, 1942 Wm; l

. Agfa. .ga 5' ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 5, 1944 RAIL FASTENING WilliamS. Boyce, Denver, and Marvin L. Cantrell, Pueblo, Colo., assignors toThe Colorado Fuel and Iron Corporation, Denver, Colo., a.

corporation of Colorado Application May 4, 1942, Serial No. 441,642

(Cl. 23S-,349)

Claims.

This invention relates to rail fastenings of the type includingadjustable means for urging a spring lock against the rail base to holdthe rail yieldingly on its seat, and has particular reference to a novelfastening of this type wherein the stress to which the spring lock issubjected by the adjustable means is limited to an amount determined bya stress control element which may be integral with the lock and formedso as to provide increased strength in the area of maximum stress of thelock to insure a greater factor of safety in the operation of thefastening. The new fastening locks the rail and its tie plate togetheryieldingly and provides a hold-down force of a magnitude comparable tothe lifting force against the spring lock, in order to minimize theabrasive movement of the plate on the tie. Also, the fastening is of asimple and durable construction, may be easily installed, is readilyadaptable to conventional double shoulder tie plates in use, andeiectively resists accidental loosening due to vibration or othercauses.

Rail fastenings have been devised heretofore in which the rail is heldagainst its seat by a locking member clamped against the rail base by anut and bolt secured to the tie plate, the bolt having a plate-grippinghead extending below the plate bottom. This downwardly projecting headrequires pre-indenting of the tie to permit insertion of the bolt andproper seating of the plate. The nut is tightened against the lock tocause it to exert a downward pressure on the rail base, the amount whichthe nut is tightened being determined generally by its resistance totightening which, in the prior fastenlngs, increases relativelygradually and uniformly because it is affected only by the increasingreactive force of the lock itself throughout the range of adjustment.With this construction, the installation or maintenance worker must relyon his own judgment to determine when the nut has been tightenedsuiciently to provide the desired pressure on the rail, and,accordingly, the pressure exerted by the locks is not uniform andfrequently exceeds or falls short of the desired pressure by asubstantial amount. Moreover, it happens not infrequently that theworker tightens the nut too much and thereby subjects the locking memberto stresses exceeding its elastic limit so that breakage or failure ofthe lock occurs. Also, in

punching the'lock to provide an opening for entry of the bolt or a boltbacking means, or both, the metal around the opening is frequentlyruptured and incipient cracks develop which, under excessive andunrestricted tension of the bolt, result in complete fracture of thelock.

In our copending application Ser. No. 403,138, filed July 19, 1941, ofwhich this application is a continuation-impart, we have disclosed arail fastening of the spring lock type which may be readily adjusted toprovide a predetermined spring pressure on the rail by reason of itsinclusion of a separate stress control member coacting with the springlock to prevent overtightening of the nut and bolt or other adjustablemeans for the lock. One feature of the present invention resides in theprovision of a novel fastening of this type in which it is unnecessaryto employ a separate stress control member for the spring lock, thespring lock itself having an integral part for limiting its normaldistortion by the adjustable means.

A rail fastening made in accordance with our invention comprises a tieplate having the rail seated on it, and a spring lock having one endseated on the tie plate outwardly of the rail and the other end engagingthe rail base with a spring action. The ends of the lock are urgeddownwardly against the rail base and the tieplate by a nut and bolt orother adjustable means, the threaded portion of the bolt being disposedin an opening in the tie-plate adjacent the rail and having its headunderlying a portion of the plate for resisting upward movement of thebolt. The bolt extends upwardly through an opening in the lockintermediate its ends, and the nut is threaded on the bolt above thelock. Downward movement of the intermediate portion of the lock due totightening of the nut is limited by a stress control means integral withone of the fastening elements and extending at least partly around thebolt below the lock. Preferably, the stress control means is integralwith the spring lock and engages abutments adjacent the plate openingwhich receives the bolt, the initial space between the stress controlmeans and abutments limiting the downward ilexure of the spring and thepressure transmitted to the rail and tie plate as the nut is tightened,the maximum pressure occurring when the stress control means engages theplate abutments.

Another feature of the invention resides in the provision of a novelrail fastening of the type described in which the spring lock isprovided on the lower face with a. protruslon for engaging the plateabutments to limit distortion of the lock by the nut. The protrusion maytake the form of a boss formed around the lock opening and having itsmaximum depth at the side edges of the opening, the boss thus serving tostrengthen the intermediate portion of the lock Where it would otherwisebe weakened by the opening and also acting to space the main body of thelock above the plate abutments so that the lock may flex more readily inresponse tothe usual wave motion of the rail. Preferably, the upper faceof the lock is provided around its opening With a depression, which maybe made in the formation of the boss, and the nut has on its lower facea chamfered portion adapted to t in the depression so as to lendstability to the lock and center it relative to the bolt when the nut istightened. The boss or protrusion may, if desired, have a roundedportion where it engages the plate abutments whereby the lock may tilton the protrusion as a pivot to accomodate lateral movement of the boltdue to tightening of the nut or movement of the rail, or both.

In the installatiQnM/Qf/the new fastening, the nut may be tightenedvarying degrees until the lock protrusion or stress control means isclamped firmly against the plate abutments, whereupon further tighteningis prevented. By locating the stress control means at the sides of thebolt, the spring lock cannot yield appreciably under the action of thenut after the latter forces the lock against the plate abutments, withthe result that the nal degree of tightening of the nut is indicated bya sudden marked increase in its resistance to tightening. Since thestress control means positively limits the tightening 'of the nut orother adjustable means and therefore the pressure of the lock againstthe rail, there is no danger of overstressing the lock and breaking itor otherwise preventing fulfillment of its intended function. The springpressure against the rail base| which is thus determined by the stresscontrol means, insures uniformity of holding power of lthe fastenings,the cumulative force of which serves effectively to resist upward andlateral movement of the rail and longitudinal creeping thereof. Due toits distortion and reactive force, the spring lock acts to preventaccidental loosening of the nut and automatically takes up any loosenesswhich might otherwise develop in the nut and bolt due to wear,corrosion, etc. Preferably, the tie-plate is provided with openings eachformed so as to accommodate interchangeably the bolt of the fastening ora spike which is adapted to engage the tie plate in themanner of awedge, the cumulative action of the spikes acting to develop sumcientholding power for retaining the plate in contact with the tie andresisting the lifting force against the spring incident to passing wheelloads.

These and other features of the invention may be better understood byreference to the following detailed description 4and the accompanyingdrawing, in which Figs. 1 and 2 are longitudinal sectional and planviews, respectively, of one form of the new rail fastening;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the spring lock;

Fig. 4-is a longitudinal sectional view of part of another form of thenew fastening; and

Figs. 5 and 6 are side and plan views, respectively, of the bolt shownin Fig. 4.

The new rail fastening comprises a rail support in the form of a tieplate Ill mounted on a cross tie II and preferably having a canted seatI2 for the rail I3. The base I4 of the rail is held in its operativeposition on the plate by rail abutting shoulders I5 extendingtransversely of the plate along the margins of the rail seat.

The rail is held yieldingly on its seat by a spring lock I1 which, asshown, comprises a strip of relatively heavy spring metal having one endI8 engaging the top of the rail base, the opposite end being bentdownwardly and engaging the top of the tie plate a substantial distanceoutwardly from the rail seat, as shown at I9. Intermediate its ends, thespring lock is provided with an opening 20 and a boss 2| projectingvfromthe lower face of the lock around the opening, the upper face of thelock being formed with a depression 22 around the opening.

The spring lock is clamped down against the tie plate and the rail baseby an adjustable means which preferably comprises a bolt 23 and a. nut24 threaded on the upper end of the bolt. The bolt extends through theopening 20 in the lock and has at its lower end or head a laterallyextending hooked projection 25 underlying a part of the tie plate so asto secure the bolt against upward movement relative to 'the plate. Asshown, the bolt is disposed in an opening 26 in the tie plate, and thelateral projection v25 is located above the bottom surface of the plateand extends outwardly under a shoulder 21 formed by under-cutting theopening 26. The shoulder 21 is arched upwardly and outwardly from themain portion of the opening 26 and is engaged by a similarly archedsurface of the bolt projection 25, so that lateral movement of the lowerportion of the bolt is prevented although the bolt may pivot toward andaway from the rail, as will be described hereinafter in greater detail.At its lower end portion, the side of the bolt remote from the lateralprojection 25 is beveled, as shown at 28, for a purpose to be described.

Above the shoulder 21, the tie plate is provided with a raised abutment29 extending transversely of the plate along the outer edge of theopening 26, the abutment serving to brace the bolt. The top surface ofthe plate is also provided with longitudinal abutments 29a extendingalong the opposite sides of the plate opening to the adjacent shoulderI5 so as to form in effect lateral continuations of the shoulder I5 forreinforcing the transverse abutment 29 and affording additional lateralsupport for the bolt.

The boss 2I onthe lower face of the spring lock provides a stresscontrol means in the form of a downwardly extending rounded protrusionunderlying the body of the lock I1. Preferably, the bolt is made ofround stock and has its head upset to form the lateral projection 25,its upper portion being threaded to accommodate the nut 2l.

In assembling the new fastening, the rail is mounted on the tie plate,and the bolt 23 is inserted in the plate opening 26 so that the lateralprojection 25 extends into the under-cut part of the opening. Thebeveled portion 28 allows the bolt to be inserted readily in the openingby initially tilting it outwardly from the rail, hooking the projection25 under the shoulder 21 and straightening the bolt to its verticalposition, as shown. The springlock I1 is then placed in position withthe threaded portion of the bolt extending through the lock opening 20,and the nut 2l is screwed on the bolt to clamp the lock down against therail base and the tie plate. Before the nut is tightened, the springlock assumes its normal unstressed position shown in dotted lines inFig. l, but as the nut is tightened the part of the lock directlybeneath the nut is forced downwardly, and, due to the shape of the lockand its relation to the tie plate and rail base, this downward forcecauses it to move inwardly toward the rail on its outer end I9 as apivot. The pivotal engagement of the bolt projection 25 with theoverhanging shoulder 21 of the tie plate permits the bolt to tiltslightly and adjust itself so as to accommodate this longitudinalmovement of the lock.

The nut 24 is preferably provided at its lower end with a chamferedportion 3| forming a cam surface which ts into the depression 22 in theupper face of the lock. Accordingly, as the nut is tightened, itschamfered portion exerts a cam action on the spring lock around theopening and acts to center the lock relative to the bolt. This centeringof the lock is a desirable feature of the new fastening because, whenthe lock is in its final position, it insures accurate and uniformengagement of the lower end of boss 2l with the spaced shoulderabutments 29a at the'sides of the bolt. Also, the centering of the lockinsures a uniform spacing of the sides of the lock opening from theadjacent sides of the bolt, whereby 'the intermediate portion of thelock may iiex more readily and with less interference from the bolt whenvibration or wave motion of the rail occurs. Additionally, since only asmall area of the nut engages the lock at the cam surface 3l, the nutdoes not interfere appreciably with the exing of the lock.

The resistance of the nut 24 to tightening increases initially at arelatively gradual and uniform rate due to the increased resistance ofthe spring lock to distortion as it moves away from its normal position.However, the resistance of the nut to tightening increases suddenly to avery high value when the protrusion 2| on the spring lock is forced downagainst the top of abutments 29a, thus preventing further tightening ofthe nut. Accordingly, when this point in the tightening operation isreached, the worker is informed by the sudden and inordinate increase inthe resistance ofthe nut to turning that the lock has been distortedsuiiiciently to provide the desired pressure on the top of the railbase, the lock then assuming the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1.i

By properly forming the spring lock I1 and positioning the stresscontrol element 2l on the lock, it is possible to control accurately thedis tance through which the lock is forced before it contacts the plateabutments 29a and, therefore, its ultimate pressure on the rail base. Itwill be understood that a plurality o-f spring locks I1 may be spacedalong the rail, and by making the boss 2l of uniform depth the pressureof the locks on the rail will be uniform. Each lock in its finalposition is caused to exert on the rail base a downward pressure of thedesired magnitude determined by the stress control means 2l, so thatupward or lateral movement of the rail is resisted yieldingly andlongitudinal movement or vibration of the rail is effectively reduced orprevented. Since the boss 2| on the lock is rounded at the bottom whereit engages the raised abutments 29a, the lock may tilt or rocktransversely of the rail on the boss 2l as a pivot, in unison with thetilting action of the bolt, and

thereby adjust its'elf. Because of the stress control means 2l, 29a. thestress applied to the lock by the nut is determined independently of thebolt.

Due to the distortion of the lock by the nut in its final position, thelock exerts on the nut an upwardly directed reactive force whichmaintains the nut under considerable stress and thereby resistsloosening thereof. The reactive force of the lock also has a horizontalcomponent directed outwardly from the rail due to the tendency of thedistorted lock to return to its normal position on its outer end I9 as apivot. Accordingly, the resultant reactive force of the lock acts notonly to urge the nut and bolt upwardly but also to tilt the Iboltoutwardly in the plate opening. The upper part of the bolt, therefore,is urged outwardly against the shoulder abutment 29 on the tie plate,and the lower'part of the bolt is urged inwardly so that the archedportion of its lateral projection 25 is forced against and held by thecorrespondingly arched surface of the shoulder 21 in the plate opening.The eccentric reactive force on the nut and bolt thus maintains theparts in tightly wedged relation and automatically takes up anylooseness which might otherwise develop,y between the parts due to wear,corrosionfetc.

It will be apparent that with the new fastening it is impossible vtotighten the nut 24 to the point where the elastic limit of the springlock is exceeded, because the stress control element 2l provides apositive limit to the distortion of the lock by the nut.

The plate opening 2 6, as shown, is rectangular at the lower portion ofthe plate to accommodate the bolt head 25, while at the upper portion ofthe plate it is square so that it may receive either the shank of thebolt 23 or the shank of a spike 32. Thus, the spring lock and the spikeare interchangeable, as conditions may require. Preferably, the sides ofYthe spike 32 are tapered downwardly to the normal cross section of theshank so that they provide in effect a wedge action against theabutments 29a which precludes the'full driving of the spike, whereby thespike head is held in the desired spaced relation to the rail base, asshown at the left in Fig. l. The abutments 29 and 29a facilitate theinsertion of the bolt 23 and provide a substantially horizontal surfacefor engagement with the stress control boss 2l. Also, when a spike isdriven through the plate opening 26 into the tie, the vertical innersurfaces of the abutments engage the tapered sides of the spike andretain the plate I0 firmly against the tie. Additionally, the abutmentsact as guide means impelling v ertical driving of the spike, which is animportant factor in securing the greatest possible holding power of thespike in the tie.

If desired, additional spikes (not shown) may be driven into the tie`through openings 33 in the tie plate outwardly from the openings 26.The accumulative holding power of the spikes is sufiicient to resist thereactive force encountered by y the lock l1 incident to the usual wavemotion of the rail under load, whereby vertical and lateral movement ofthe plate relative to the tie are prevented.

The rail fastening shown in Fig. 4 is similar to that illustrated inFigs. 1 and 2, except that the spring lock and bolt are of somewhatdifferent form. As shown, the spring lock lla is provided wlth a stresscontrol boss Zia of slightly different shape around the opening in thelock, the boss being substantially flat on the bottom instead ofrounded. The bolt 23a has a laterally extending head or projection 25adisposed in an undercut portion of the plate opening 26, and below thethreaded portion it is provided with an upwardly facing shoulder 35.Preferably, the bolt is made of round stock, and the corners below thethreaded portion, which form the spaced shoulders 35, are produced inthe upsetting or heading operation used in forming the head andprojection 25a.

The lock Ha is installed in the same manner as the lock l1, but when thenut 24 is tightened it forces the boss 21a downwardly against the boltshoulder 35. Thus, the stress to which the spring lock is subjected bythe nut is determined by the point at which the boss 2Ia moves intocontact with shoulder 35.

'The rail fastening of our invention includes r'elatively few parts andis adapted for manufacture at low cost. The spring lock may be madeeasily by punching an opening in the strip of spring metal intermediateits ends and somewhat smaller than the final opening 20, and thendepressing the metal around the opening on the upper face of the lock sothat the displaced metal is utilized in forming the boss on the lowerface.

We claim:

1. In a rail-fastening assembly, the improvement comprising a tie-plateprovided with a rail-seat, a rail-abutting shoulder and a plateopeningadjacent the seat, a rail on the seat, a spring-lock having an inner endand an outer end, the innerv end being adapted to engage the rail-baseto resist upward movement thereof, the outer end being bent downwardlyto engage the tie-plate, an opening in the spring-lock intel'- mediateits ends, a depending integral boss at the bolt-opening on the lowerface of the springlock, said boss being of sufficient size materially tostrengthen the spring-lock adjacent the boltopening while permitting thespring-lock to flex when a load passes over the rail, a bolt in saidplate-opening and spring-lock opening secured to the tie-plate normallymaintaining the inner' end of the spring-lock in engagement with therail base and the outer end of the spring-lock in engagement with thetie-plate, and means cooperating with said boss for stopping downwardmovement of the spring-lock when it is secured to the rail-base andtie-plate so that the elastic limit of the spring-lock cannot beexceeded by tightening the bolt.

2. In a rail-fastening assembly, the improvement comprising a tie-plateprovided with a rail-seat, a rail-abutting shoulder and a plateopeningadjacent the seat, a rail on the seat, a spring-lock having an inner endand an outer end, the inner end being adapted to engage the rail-base toresist upward movement thereof, the outer end being bent downwardly toengage the tie-plate, a bolt-opening in the spring-lock intermediate itsends, a depending integral boss at the bolt-opening on the lower face ofthe springlock, said boss being of suflicient depth and thicknessmaterially to strengthen the spring-lock adjacent the bolt-opening whilepermitting the spring-lock to flex when a load passes over the rail, abolt tting freely in the plate-opening with the lower end thereofterminating in a laterally extending hooked projection underlying aportion of the plate for resisting upward movement of the bolt, saidbolt projecting upwardly through the opening in the spring-lock, a nutthreaded on the bolt above the spring-lock normally maintaining theinner end of the springlock in engagement with the rail-base and theouter end of the spring-lock in engagement with the tie-plate, and meanscooperating with said boss for stopping downward movement of thespring-lock when it is secured to the rail-base and tie-plate so thatthe elastic limit of the spring-lock cannot be exceeded by tighteningthe bolt.

3. A rail-fastening assembly according to the preceding claim, in whichthe lower portion of the plate-opening below the rail-seat is dened byfour walls; the upper portion of the plateopening is provided outwardlywith an upwardly extending abutment to form a three-Walled plate-openingabove the rail-seat; the tie-plate is provided outwardly of theplate-opening with an undercut portion forming a shoulder archedoutwardly and upwardly from the main portion of the plate-opening; thetop of the laterally extending hooked projection of the bolt issimilarly arched to permit hinged and locked engagement of theprojection with the undercut portion of the tie-plate so that lateralmovement of the lower portion of the bolt is prevented while the upperportion of the bolt may be moved toward and away from the rail restingon the tie-plate.

4. In a rail-fastening assembly, the improvement comprising a tie-plateprovided with a rail seat, a rail-abutting shoulder and a plate-openingadjacent the seat, the tie-plate being provided with a raised abutmentalong the outer edge of the plate-opening, a rail on the seat, aspring-lock having an inner end and an outer end, the inner end beingadapted to engage the rail base inwardly of the plate-opening to resistupward movement of the rail relative to the tieplate, the outer endbeing bent downwardly to engage the top of the tie-plate a substantialdistance outwardly of the plate-opening, said spring-lock having abolt-opening intermediate its ends, a depending integral boss at theboltopening on the lower face of the spring-lock, said boss being ofsufiicient depth and thickness materially to strengthen the spring-lockadjacent the bolt-opening while permitting the spring-lock to ex when aload passes over the rail, said boss also being of predetermined depthso that it is adapted to act as a stress-control element to controlaccurately the distance through which the spring-lock may be forced andhence its ultimate pressure on the rail-base, a bolt fitting freely inthe plate-opening with the lower end thereof terminating in a laterallyextending hooked projection underlying and in hinged and hookedengagement with an undercut portion of the plate outwardly adjacent theplate-opening for resisting upward movement of the bolt and to permitmovement of the upper.

end of the bolt toward and away from the rail, the side of the boltremoved from the laterally extending hooked projection being drawn in topermit ready insertion of the bolt in the plateopening, said boltprojecting upardly through said opening in the spring-lock, stop-meansextending at least partly around the bolt below the spring-lock forstopping downward movement of the boss to limit downward movement of thespring-lock, and a nut threaded on the bolt above the spring-locknormally maintaining the inner end of the spring-lock in engagement withthe rail base and the outer end of the vspring-lock in engagement withthe tie-plate.

5. A rail-fastening assembly according to the preceding claim, in whichthe boss is integrally formed of material depressed from the boltopeningin the spring-lock.

f to the spring-lock and to center the spring-lock relative to the boltwhen the nut is tightened to insure accurate and uniform engagement ofthe spring-lock with the rail-base and the tie-plate.

7. A rail-fastening assembly according to claim 4, in which the boss isrounded on the bottom so that when the rounded bottom is placed inengagement with the stop-means for stopping downward movement of theboss and hence of the spring-lock, the spring-lock may rock transverselyof the rail on the boss in unison with the tilting action of the bolt inthe boltopening and thereby adjust itself after a load has passed overthe rail.

8. A rail-fastening assembly according to claim 4, in which saidstop-means for the boss on the spring-lock comprises said raisedabutment along the outer edge of. the plate-opening in the tie-plate.

9. A rail-fastening assembly according to claim 4, in which said bolt isprovided with an upwardly facing shoulder below the spring-lock, and theshoulder forms said stop-means for stopping downward movement of theboss and hence of the spring-lock. f

10. A rail-fastening assembly according to claim 4, in which said bossis substantially 4flat on the bottom, the flat bottom of the boss beingengageable with said stop-means for stopping downward movement of theboss and hence the spring-lock.

11. A rail fastening assembly according to claim 4, in which said boltis provided with an upwardly facing shoulder below the spring-lock, theshoulder forms said stop-means for stopping downward movement of theboss and said boss is substantially at on the bottom, the at bottom ofthe boss being engageable with the stopmeans.

12. For use in a rail fastening assembly, the improvement comprising a.spring-lock having an inner end and an outer end, the inner end beingadapted to engage a rail-base to resist upward movement thereof, theouter end being bent downwardly so as pivotally to engage a tie-plate,the spring-lock having a bolt-opening intermediate its ends, the upperface of the spring-lock being formed with a depression around the boltopening, a boss around the boltopenng on the lower face of thespring-lock, said boss being of predetermined depth so that it isadapted to act as a stress control element to control accurately thedistance through which the spring-lock is forced and hence its ultimatepressure on the rail-base.

13. A spring-lock according to the preceding claim, in which the boss isrounded so that the spring-lock may rock transversely of the rail on theboss as a pivot` in unison with the tilting action of the bolt andthereby adjust itself after a load has passed over the rail.

14. A spring-lock accordingr to claim l2, in which said boss issubstantially at on the bottom so that the fiat bottom may be placed inengagement with stop-means for stopping downward movement of the bossand hence the spring-lock.

l5. A spring-lock according to claim 12, in which the thickness of thespring-lock surrounding the opening is substantially greater than thenormal thickness of the spring-lock to provide through the area ofmaximum stress increased strength of the spring-lock around theperiphery of the opening.

MARVIN L. CANTRELL. WILLIAM S. BOYCE.

